Q&A: Where to Start
Where to Start
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I want to start learning Talmud with a Jew who has absolutely no background in learning, with the goal that within a short time (as much as possible) he will know how to learn on his own at the level of Talmud with Rashi.
Which pages would be best to start with?
What I’m really looking for are pages that contain many of the basic foundations of the methods of learning. Where is there a concentration of such pages?
Thank you
Answer
I don’t think that’s the right consideration, and I also don’t know how to point to concentrated sets of pages like that. Keep in mind that after learning ten or twenty pages, he still won’t know how to learn on his own. You’re supposed to begin, and the job is not upon you to finish. It’s customary to start with HaMafkid or Eilu Metziot, and maybe you could start there. But it really doesn’t seem to me to make much difference. It may be that the real consideration is דווקא what will speak to him, and if you know him, try to assess that.
You’ve also mixed together two goals here: 1. That he should know how to learn Talmud and Rashi on his own. 2. That he should know the foundations and methods of learning. Those are two different goals, and both are of course important. For goal 1, it’s actually better to start with easier pages.